Reaction
by Sailor Elf
Summary: The aftermath of Catlanda's news. Occurs after 'One Life'
1. Attempting to Understand

Disclaimer - Ardeth does not belong to me. (WAH!) Catlanda does though and any other original characters in here.

Summary - The aftermath to Catlanda's news.

Author's Note - There will be suicide attempts in this story. You have been warned about it. This occurs right after 'One Life'.

00000

Reaction

Ardeth stumbled through the tribe, bumping into people along the way. The anger inside of him raged on. He simply couldn't believe it! Catlanda, the one person in his life that meant the most to him, was pregnant!

His fellow Medjai watched him stumble across the sand and walk into his tent.

"What's wrong with him?" asked one.

"I don't know. Nobody knows why he's acting like this all of a sudden. Someone must have done something to him badly enough to do this," replied another as they glanced over at Ardeth's tent.

Inside the tent, Ardeth was now visibly angry. His eyes burned with rage as he began to shove everything over inside. He threw his bed over onto its side before throwing his swords onto the ground. He threw everything else onto the ground before collapsing to his knees and openly sobbing.

"Why does it have to be like this?" he quietly said through the tears. "I've failed you my friend. My daughter."

00000

Catlanda sat beside Isis just outside the camp. Geb stood nearby. Isis whimpered as she looked at her master. Catlanda's eyes were red and puffy from crying since before she met up with Ardeth.

"Spire," she barely said.

"Yes?" it replied.

"Where's Ardeth right now?" she asked it.

"In his tent," it told her.

"Show me," she requested.

A scene appeared before her, revealing Ardeth in his tent, throwing things around the place.

"I don't want to see this anymore!" cried Catlanda as she threw the Spire away from her.

Isis walked up to it and grasped it in her teeth. She looked at Catlanda, who barely noticed her.

"I don't want to even look at it Isis. Somehow, I knew that was going to be Ardeth's reaction. I like the idea about this as much as he does," she told the cat, the sobs quickly overtaking her voice.

Soon, she couldn't even talk anymore, her voice again taken over by uncontrollable sobs. She laid down and curled up into a ball, a hand on her stomach.

"I don't know if I can handle seeing Ardeth like this or even myself," she barely said to herself.

00000

Ardeth was now laying on the ground, barely aware of what was going on around him. He heard a voice coming from outside the tent, saying something that slightly resembled his name.

_'What? What is it that you want from me? Go away! I want to be alone!'_ he thought to himself as he closed his eyes.

His head drooped to one side as someone walked inside the tent and found him there.

"Ardeth!" she cried as she hurried to his side.

She put a hand on his cheek, forcing him to face her. He barely opened his eyes stared at her. They had a blankness in them that wasn't in them before.

"Ardeth! Can you hear me?" came the woman's voice.

_'Haven't you heard me? Go away!'_ he was trying to say. _'Leave me alone. I want to be alone. I don't deserve anything.'_

Though he couldn't make his lips form words as Ayanna looked over her son. She was becoming scared for she never seen Ardeth in this condition before. She hurried to the entrance of the tent.

"Iscantil, come in here, please," she pleaded before walking back up to Ardeth.

Iscantil walked inside and saw Ardeth on the floor. Her gaze went to the other woman in the tent.

"What is wrong with him?" she asked.

"I am not certain. I need you to help me get him onto his bed once we set it right again," Ayanna replied as the two headed towards the bed.

They set it back upright before heading back to Ardeth and carefully lifting him onto it.

"There must be some after effects from his most recent capture. They must have done something so terrible to one or both of them that he's like this," Iscantil suggested.

"I think it's very possible. Where's Catlanda?" replied Ayanna as the two locked eyes with each other.

Fear struck their faces.

00000

Catlanda looked at her Spire in the sand for several minutes before crawling over to it and carefully picking it up.

"Spire, I know what I must do. Dagger, now," she ordered it.

"Master?" questioned the Spire.

"Just do it," Catlanda told it, wiping the tears from off of her face.

The Spire made a dagger appear before her and she grasped it with one hand, putting down the Spire. She soon held onto it with her other hand as well and aimed it at her chest.

00000

Iscantil hurried out of the tent and nearly ran into Marok.

"Marok, have you seen Catlanda?" she asked him.

"No, I haven't seen her all day. Why?" he replied.

"I fear something's wrong. We need to find her before something happens," the woman told him before starting to move again.

The two searched the camp, asking questions along the way. It led them to the outskirts of the camp. Iscantil and Marok cautiously walked around the area, looking for any sign of Catlanda.

"Where could she be?" wondered Marok.

Iscantil shook her head before she saw a figure lying on the ground in the distance. Marok followed her gaze and they hurried up to the person to see it was Catlanda.

"Cat, you're here. I'm so glad you're..." Marok started as he held onto her shoulder.

But he immediately sensed something was wrong as did Iscantil. She was facing the other way when they arrived there so they carefully turned her towards them. They gasped at what they saw.

The handle of a dagger sticking out of her body.

TBC...


	2. Barely Aware

"We have to get her back to the camp and get this taken care of!" Marok cried.  
  
The woman nodded as he carefully picked up Catlanda. She picked up the Spire and they took her into the camp. They hurried into Iscantil's tent where he laid her down on the bed.  
  
"I have to carefully get the dagger out of her. Marok, hold onto her shoulders and be prepared," Iscantil told him.  
  
He did as he was told as she put her hand on the handle of the dagger. She slowly started to pull it out of her, hearing gasps come from the young woman it was embedded in. Iscantil closed her eyes once she pulled it out completely and the blood started to flow a bit from the wound. Cloth was immediately placed over it to stop it. Iscantil glanced up at Marok.  
  
"Marok, I'd prefer it if you left for the moment. Even better, get someone in here to help me," she told him.  
  
He nodded his head before leaving the tent, leaving the woman take care of her granddaughter. Catlanda was now laying unconscious on the bed, her arm hanging over the side. Soon, two others came inside and saw them.  
  
"What happened?" asked one.  
  
"It looks like she was attacked and we didn't hear or see any of it," replied Iscantil, not even glancing up from what she was doing.  
  
The two hurried to the injured Medjai's side and began to tend to the wounds. First they took off all necessary robes before they came to the ugly wound.  
  
"I'm just not sure Iscantil that'll she'll live through this," one told her.  
  
"We cannot give up on her yet. We cannot give up until it's over," the woman replied  
  
***  
  
Ayanna put a damp cloth on Ardeth's forehead as he laid on the bed. He was now oblivious to everything around him and he was mumbling in his sleep as she looked over him.  
  
"Dear Ardeth. What had happened to you? I've never seen you like this. What will the tribe think if they find out about this?" she asked herself as she turned away from him.  
  
"Cat, no. Don't leave me," Ardeth suddenly said as he reached out for her.  
  
Ayanna grabbed his arms and struggled to keep his hands away from her.  
  
"Ardeth, stop this! You're not acting yourself!" she told him. "Listen to me."  
  
He calmed down and became limp on the bed. It was then he opened his eyes. His stare came to his mother as he was heavily breathing.  
  
"Wh...where am I?" he quietly gasped.  
  
"You're in your tent. I found you here. What happened my son, that you collapsed to the ground?" she replied. "And where is Cat?"  
  
She took his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. Worry was written all over her face. He looked at her as he lifted up an arm.  
  
"Cat..." he started, putting his hand on her arm.  
  
Before she could give any answer, Marok ran into the tent. He saw Ardeth and his eyes widened. Ayanna turned in surprise.  
  
"What is it?" asked Ayanna.  
  
"We found Cat. She was just outside the camp. We need your help," the young Medjai replied, turning his attention to her.  
  
"Why? What happened to her?" came the demand.  
  
"I'll explain along the way," came the reply.  
  
Ayanna looked at her son before she reluctantly went with him. Ardeth slowly put down his arm and closed his eyes, unaware of what was happening around him.  
  
***  
  
The two hurried towards the tent.  
  
"Now can you explain to me what happened to her?" demanded Ayanna.  
  
"She was found with a dagger in her chest. We believe someone was close enough to attack her," he replied.  
  
The woman stopped and closed her eyes.  
  
"Cat is not that careless or irresponsible. She can sense an enemy from far away. She would have noticed an enemy lurking nearby," she told him as he stopped as well.  
  
"Maybe the recent incident had done something and her thoughts were elsewhere so she never noticed him," Marok suggested.  
  
"I'm not so sure about that," she said as they continued on towards the tent.  
  
She walked inside to see the pile of blood im the sand and the women taking care of the limp form on the bed.  
  
"I didn't realize it was this bad!" she cried as she hurried down to help them.  
  
"We've managed to slow the bleeding. It was in pretty deep but we don't believe it has hit anything important," Iscantil filled her in. "We're not sure how it exactly happened."  
  
"Alright. Have we got bandages prepared? Herbs?" wondered Ayanna.  
  
"Yes, we do. They're right here," she replied before taking her into a corner. "Did Ardeth give any indication to why this might've happened?"  
  
"No, he didn't. He had become conscious for a moment when Marok arrived. I believe he knows though I'm not sure whether he would speak to either of us about it," Ayanna replied.  
  
"I hope he does," Iscantil agreed as they went back to help the others.  
  
***  
  
Marok cautiously walked into Ardeth's tent. He saw the Medjai leader in his bed, his eyes closed. He walked up to him and sat next to the bed. Marok watched his breathing as he sat there.  
  
"We're all wondering what has happened Ardeth. Why don't you tell us?" he asked himself.  
  
He heard a moan come from Ardeth, who put a hand up to his face. Marok hurried to his side as he tried to sit up.  
  
"Ardeth! How're you feeling?" Marok said as he held onto Ardeth's arm.  
  
Ardeth stared at him before looking away.  
  
"I'm not sure anymore," Ardeth quietly replied. "Why are you here?"  
  
Marok was a bit hurt once those words were spoken. Even in this weakened state, he heard anger in his voice.  
  
"Because I care Ardeth! For you and your daughter's safety!" he managed to sputter out.  
  
Ardeth's eyes filled with anger as they came in contact with Marok's.  
  
"What is wrong with my daughter?" he demanded.  
  
Marok gulped, realizing that he probably shouldn't have said anything to make him even the remotest bit suspicious.  
  
***  
  
The four women finished with their work, Catlanda was sleeping soundly on the bed, barely alive. Isis walked in and laid down on the ground next to her master. Bandages now covered her chest area as Iscantil pulled a blanket over her.  
  
"Now all we have to do is wait," she sighed.  
  
The other women nodded as they began to clean everything up. Soon, the other two women left, leaving the two with their granddaughter.  
  
"How could something like this happen?" wondered Ayanna.  
  
The other woman nodded in agreement when they heard a noise at the front of the tent. They looked to see Ardeth leaning against Marok. The Medjai leader walked away from him, stumbling over to his daughter.  
  
"Cat," he managed to choke out as he fell to his knees next to her.  
  
The two women walked over to Marok.  
  
"I thought we agreed that you would not to tell him," Iscantil reprimanded through gritted teeth.  
  
"I didn't mean for this to happen. I was in the tent with him when he awoke and I told him that I cared for his and her safety. He became suspicious with the statement and I knew then that anything I told him he wouldn't believe unless I told him the truth. Even that he didn't take well," Marok explained.  
  
The two nodded before they motioned that they should leave and all three walked out of the tent. Ardeth held Catlanda's hand as she laid on the bed.  
  
"Cat," he barely whispered as he lowered his head. "What have you done to yourself?"  
  
He put his forehead on her hand. He soon placed her hand by her side before heading over to the table. He gazed over what was on it. He picked up a vial of clear liquid. He opened it up and lifted it up to his mouth...  
  
TBC... 


	3. Stopped!

"Do you think we really should've left him alone? I mean, either of them could require help," wondered Marok.  
  
"We realize that but we need to respect them just the same. He is her father and they just went through an ordeal they haven't talked about since they came back from it. I believe that the effects of this are finally coming out," Ayanna told them. "I've tried to persuade Ardeth to talk to me about it but he's stubborn not to talk about it."  
  
"As with Cat. She will not talk about it either. She takes after Ardeth in so many ways," agreed Iscantil.  
  
Marok sighed as he looked at the tent as the two women started to walk away.  
  
"Ayanna, did we leave anything out on the table that we might need?" asked Iscantil.  
  
She thought for a moment before she snapped her fingers.  
  
"Yes, I did. A vial with some medication in it. I'll need for Isis' wound soon. There's still a bit of a rash from where she got shot," she replied before heading back to the tent.  
  
She stood outside the entrance of the tent.  
  
"Ardeth? Can I come in for a moment? I forgot something that's needed right away," she called into him.  
  
When she didn't hear anything, she started to become a bit worried. She leaned forward to look inside. What she saw was the last thing she expected to see.  
  
She saw Ardeth standing by the table, the vial in his hand and preparing to drink its contents.  
  
"No!" she cried. "Stop him!"  
  
This outburst caught Marok's attention. He ran up to her and saw what Ardeth was trying to do. Marok ran inside and headed towards him. He reached the man and tried to grab it out of Ardeth's hand but found nothing. Ardeth had moved it from his reach.  
  
"No. I must do this," Ardeth told him.  
  
"You can't do this Ardeth," Marok said to him.  
  
"Yes, I can," Ardeth said as he lifted the vial up to his mouth again.  
  
Marok grabbed Ardeth's arms and tried to wrestle the vial out of Ardeth's grip. It wasn't very long before Ardeth was forced to his knees and soon collapsed on the ground, his grip lessening on the object in his hands. The man curled up into a ball as the women hurried inside. They knelt by his side.  
  
"Ardeth! What's wrong?" his mother frantically asked.  
  
He groaned as he laid there on the ground. He lifted his head and slightly stared at them through barely opened eyes.  
  
"Why did you stop me?" he asked them, his voice really quiet.  
  
"If you had drunk that Ardeth, you've would've become very sick and possibly died from it," Iscantil told him.  
  
Ardeth's eyes rolled back into his head and his entire body became limp. The three glanced at each other.  
  
"I have a feeling that he might've actually known what he was doing," Marok sighed as they began to lift him into a bed next to Catlanda's.  
  
"They are both sick," Marok stated with a sigh. "What can we do for them?"  
  
"Nothing at the moment. All we can do is wait and see what happens," Ayanna replied as a blanket was placed over his limp body.  
  
***  
  
Ardeth thought he heard voices in the distance. It sounded like faint voices talking to him. Or was it someone else they were talking to? He wasn't sure as he tried to take a deep breath but found himself coughing instead.  
  
"Ardeth!" came a more clearer voice. "How do you feel?"  
  
He opened his eyes a bit to see three sets of eyes staring at him. He groaned as he put a hand up to his head. He gasped for air as his mother put a gentle hand on his arm.  
  
"Ardeth," she said.  
  
"What is it?" he told them, looking away from them.  
  
"Ardeth, what's wrong? Why did you try and attempt something like that?" she asked him.  
  
"I've failed her," he whispered.  
  
"Failed her? How?" Iscantil asked curiously.  
  
Before he could answer, he closed his eyes and fell back into oblivion. The three became worried at that point as they surrounded him.  
  
"What did he mean by that? How has he failed Cat? He's never failed her! He's always been there for her all these years!" Ayanna said as they looked at each other with worried looks.  
  
"We've got to look into this once they awaken again," suggested Marok.  
  
They women nodded before they left the tent.  
  
***  
  
Ardeth slightly opened his eyes. He saw that it was nighttime and noone else was inside the tent besides him and Catlanda. He looked over at her before he unsteadily climbed to his feet and over to her bed. He fell to his knees.  
  
"Cat," he quietly said as he began to stroke her hair. "Why did this have to happen to us? What did we do to deserve this torment? I am so sorry that it has to be like this."  
  
He put his other hand on her arm. He tried to stay awake but to no avail. He laid his head on the bed and fell fast alseep right where he was.  
  
***  
  
Catlanda took in a deep breath, taking in the scents around her. She slowly opened her eyes and gazed around at her surroundings. She soon came to the empty bed next to her.  
  
"Dad. Where's Dad?" she hoarsely cried out.  
  
She started to reach out when someone grabbed her wrists.  
  
"Don't move. You need to regain your strength," came a soothing voice.  
  
She vaguely recognized the voice as she stared at where it was coming from.  
  
"Yanna, how's Dad?" she asked quietly.  
  
"He'll do fine. You're no better than him though he's been awake at least. You haven't been for nearly two days and he's rarely left your side. Right now, he's in his own tent, listening to one of Sharak's reports. Tell me now. What exactly happened that you received a dagger in the chest?" Ayanna wondered as she began to put on the last of the bandages.  
  
Catlanda pulled the covers over her body.  
  
"I'd rather not talk about it Yanna," she quietly replied.  
  
"Cat..." she started but decided to stop. "You should get some rest. I'll let you be."  
  
The woman walked out of the tent. She passed Ardeth along the way, heading towards the tent.  
  
"Mother, how is she?" he asked her as they both stopped and faced each other.  
  
"She's awake now. Go to her Ardeth. I think she needs someone right now," Ayanna told him.  
  
He nodded before heading to the tent as quickly as he could.  
  
***  
  
Catlanda gazed over to the Spire sitting in the corner of the tent. She reached her arm out to it.  
  
"Spire, come here," she ordered it.  
  
It disappeared before reappearing in her hand.  
  
"What is it that you ask of me?" it asked her.  
  
"I don't want anybody to come in this tent besides Isis, my father and my grandmothers. Understand?" she commanded it.  
  
"I understand though I have one question," the Spire replied.  
  
Catlanda was a bit surprised at this. The Spire was capable of independent thought!  
  
"Alright, what is it?" Catlanda said.  
  
"What about Marok? He has helped a great deal since you and your father arrived. Don't you think he deserves a chance to see you as well?" the Spire asked her.  
  
Catlanda looked away from the object before her.  
  
"Alright, allow Marok to come in as well but noone else! Do you understand?" Catlanda finally said before placing on the ground beside the bed.  
  
***  
  
Ardeth walked up to the tent. He looked inside at the lone figure on the bed. He began to head inside when he felt some resistance before he headed to his daughter. He put a hand on her shoulder. She was a bit startled but she looked at him with a sad face.  
  
"Cat, we need to talk about something," he told her.  
  
"What is it Dad?" she replied in a quiet voice.  
  
"We need to talk when this situation will become noticable in a few months. Everyone will know something then," he said as she climbed to a sitting position.  
  
She held the blanket around her as he held her arms.  
  
"That can be fixed so that noone besides us and anyone we tell until the child's born," Catanda told him.  
  
His eyes came in contact with hers.  
  
"How can this be?" he wondered, wide-eyed.  
  
"The Spire. Could you hand it to me?" she asked as she reached for it.  
  
He handed it to her. Ardeth watched as she stared at it.  
  
"Spire, I want it so that noone besides myself, Ardeth and anyone we tell to see my pregnancy. I don't want this spell to be broken until the child is born or until either Ardeth or I say so. Do you understand?" Catlanda carefully told it.  
  
"It is done," it said, the eyes glowing.  
  
TBC... 


	4. To Tell Someone

Ardeth sighed. He knew it was the only way as she placed the Spire back on the ground. She winced in pain from the movement. Ardeth held onto her arms still as he aided in her in lowering back down to the bed.

"Catlanda, why did you try and kill yourself?" he suddenly asked her.

"Spire, no outside contact for the moment!" she quickly ordered it.

Her eyes met with Ardeth's as the spell was cast.

"There. Now no one can hear us until we say so. The reason I did it is because of you. I saw how hurt you were because of your promise to my father. I thought it be better if I didn't have this child. The only way I could do that was if I killed myself. You know I can't ask the Spire to take it away. I feel violated Dad. In more ways than one. You understand this more than they ever will," she explained. "And what about you? You tried to kill yourself as well. The reason I know is because of the Spire."

Ardeth looked away from her ashamed.

"I did it because I believed I failed both you and your father. I didn't feel worthy to be alive for what I let happen to you," he explained, the tears welling up in his eyes.

"You never failed me. At least I never thought so," she told him.

She sighed as she reached up to give him a hug, the blanket falling down a bit as she did so, revealing the bandages around her torso. Ardeth saw them out of the corner of his eye. He put his hands on her sides and they both looked at them.

"Catlanda," he said as he looked at them. "What did you do? Is there anything wrong with the baby?"

She shook her head.

"No, there isn't. Spire said so. I wanted to so much kill myself yet not the baby," she replied.

"Yet you would've killed the child if you didn't live," Ardeth told her as he looked away from her.

Catlanda closed her eyes as she put a hand on her stomach. Ardeth put a hand on top of it and they made eye contact.

"I will treat this child no differently that what I have treated you all these years. I promise. If it should be a boy, I want him to carry on our name and be leader to this tribe after I am unable," Ardeth told her.

She smiled as she closed her eyes, Ardeth putting a hand up to her head.

"I will never leave you," he told her as he stroked her hair.

"We won't leave each other," she quietly said. "Though I have one question."

"Go ahead," Ardeth told her.

"Shouldn't we tell your mother and my grandmother about this soon?" she wondered.

He sighed. He knew she was right. The two would be upset if they weren't told almost immediately.

"We will tell them sweetheart. Real soon," he whispered to her as she fell asleep.

00000

Ayanna, Iscantil and Marok headed towards the tent, hoping they could find some answers from the two. They walked into the tent, to meet some resistance. They were slightly confused by this as they walked up to the sleeping Ardeth and Catlanda. Isis was asleep on the ground at the foot of the bed. Ardeth stirred and raised his head. He groggily looked at the three before he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Ardeth, we didn't mean to wake you up. Now that you are, do you care to tell us what happened? We're sure she confided in you about it and we would like for you to tell us why you did what you did," his mother told him, crossing her arms.

Ardeth sighed as he gazed over his daughter. His stare went back to them as she stirred from sleep. She saw the three before she made eye contact with Ardeth.

"May as well," she whispered to him.

"Mother, Iscantil, Marok, I'll tell you what happened though we request that none of you tell anyone else about this. Noone should know besides us. The Spire will know if you tell and will have to something about it," he told them.

The three nodded their heads before sitting down around the bed as Ardeth gave a deep sigh.

"The reason Cat and I have been acting differently is because she is pregnant with our attacker's child," he finally told them, looking away from them.

The End

Author's Note-So how was it? Good? Bad? What?


End file.
